Portable plate heater and carrier



Nov. 3, 1970 a. R. WELKER I PORTABLE PLATE HEATER AND CARRIER I FiledOct. 29, 1968 a nun Bill R. Walker INVENTOR.

' wfiaw 8m United States Patent 3,538,309 PORTABLE PLATE HEATER ANDCARRIER Bill R. Welker, 1816 Darbyshire Drive, Defiance, Ohio 43512Filed Oct. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 771,421 Int. Cl. F27d 11/02 US. Cl.219-386 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable plate heater andcarrier interiorly constructed to store, transport and pre-heat banquetor dinner plates preparatory to serving hot food therein. It comprises acabinet-like container or case. The container space is divided by avertical partition and defines a main compartment for the stacked platesand an auxiliary compartment for the heating means. These carriers canbe employed individually or in coordinating group relationship and haveelectrical cords of suitable length with male plugs on either one orboth ends.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements ina portable plate heater and carrier for a stack of heated ready-to-usedinner plates, the same being such in construction that it permits theuser to stack, store and transport china dinner plates which heat to asatisfactory temperature prior to use.

The adaptation herein disclosed has been found to be advantageous tousers, particularly food caterers who are called upon to transportdinner plates to remote locations and are required to have preheatedplates to expedite and make efficient the serving of hot food.Experience has shown that the invention also lends itself to feasibleuse in dining rooms and restaurants where pre-heated china and similarplates can be easily and economically stored, handled and carried.

Persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates are aware thatit is common practice, generally speaking, to pre-heat china dinnerplates in ovens, hot water and available and often heavy units such asare difficult to move into a position of usage as a serving line or aplate-makeup area.

As will be more clearly understood the invention provides asubstantially dust-free stacking and storing enclosure for dishes andthe like for an indefinite period of time and in readiness for handlingand transportation when it becomes necessary to move the stored dishesto a predetermined locale. To the ends desired the enclosure orcontainer, also referred to as a case, is of such size as to accommodate50 more or less china plates. It can be readily handled, moved or loadedinto a vehicle usually by one person.

Then, too, it will be hereinafter more clearly evident that uponarriving at the location where the plates are to be used, the currentdelivery cord can be plugged into a standard electrical outlet by meansof a male plug. By thus energizing electric heating units particularlythose of the Calrod type heat can be generated in suflicient quantity toraise the temperature of the enclosed plates to a point where they canstill be handled but are nevertheless not too cool and not too hot.

In carrying out the principles of the invention a novel channel-shapeddivider or partition is installed in the container space and transformsth same into main and auxiliary compartments, the main compartment forthe stacked dishes and the auxiliary compartment for isolation andprotected retention of the electrical heating unit. The means formounting the heating unit also serves as a heat shield and is such thatit prevents the edges of the plates which are immediately adjacentthere- 3,538,309 Patented Nov. 3, 1970 to from becoming too hot tohandle as might otherwise be the case.

It is within the purview of the invention to provide a heat source whichis readily insertable and removable, which is detachably anchored to thebottom wall of the container and which is connected at its top to alid-like adapter plate. This adapter plate and heat source constitute anovel insertable and removable entity.

Briefly, the invention is characterized by a self-standing verticallyelongated cabinet-type container which embodies operatively united topand bottom walls, side walls, and front and back walls. The front wallembodies an entrance and exit opening which is such as to facilitatloading the container space and subsequently removing the plates foruse. The front vertical edge portions of the side walls which areproximal to and border said front wall are provided with a pair of guidetracks. A panel spans the entrance opening and has a finger grip at thetop. The panel is slidingly keyed in the tracks and provides a door-typeclosure. A handgrip is accessibly mounted atop the top wall. The topwall is provided adjacent the rear wall with a slot aliording access tothe interior space of the container. The aforementioned verticallyelongaetd partition is located in the space of the container between thetop and bottom walls and occupies a position parallel to and spaced fromthe front and back walls respectively. It functions to transform thespace into a main compartment at the front and an auxiliary compartmentat the rear. The main compartment is of a size and shape to permit astack of clean dinner plates to be inserted through the entrance openingand stacked that is within the encompassing limits of the walls of themain compartment and the divider. Certain marginal edge portions of theplates abut the partition and the partition also serves as a limit stopto prevent the plates from being inserted too far and also to preventthe plates from coming into damaging contact with the heat generatingand radiating means or unit carried by the rearward side of thepartition.

In carrying out the invention the partition is channel-shaped incross-section and the open side of the channel faces and is spaced anominal restricted distance from the back wall. The web thereof is spacesignificantly a relative greater distance from the front wall. Thepartition has its lengthwise flanges or side Walls spaced inwardly fromthe opposed side walls of the container so as to provide limitedcommunication between the flanges of the partition and side Walls andsaid auxiliary compartment.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a dinner plate heater and carrierconstructed in accordance with the invention and showing the slide dooror closure in its normal down or closed position and showing theattached prongequipped cord in readiness to use for example in themanner illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale with parts appearing in elevationbut taken approximately on the plane of the section line 2-2 of FIG. 1looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section ona suitably enlarged scale taken on theplane of the section line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view with parts in section and elevation takenon the vertical section line 44 of FIG. 2.

And FIG. 5 is a view on a small scale and diagrammatically shown andillustrating how several of the plate heaters and carriers are groupedin 'side-by-side relationship and are connected together in series froma cord connected with an ordinary room or wall outlet.

Referring now to the views of the drawing and particularly to FIGS. 1and 2 it will be noted that the aforementioned vertically elongatedportable enclosure functions as a container and is also and sometimesreferred to as a 'box-like case. It is denoted, generally stated, by thenumeral 6. It can be made of appropriate material such as aluminum,possibly a multiple plastic material and in some cases of wood. It isapproximately rectangular in shape and has a suitably fitted bottom wall8 (FIG. 2), a similarly flanged and telescopingly fitted top wall 10,side walls 12, a rear or back wall 14 and a front wall. Actually thefront wall is more in the nature of readily openable closure means.Accordingly it is defined as being an open front wall and it is providedalong its marginal edges with strip members such as at 14 (FIG. 3) whichare fastened in place at 16 and have projecting end portions which areproperly grooved to provide tracks at 18. The front wall propercomprises a sliding panel 20 which has its vertical edges slidinglymounted in the grooves or tracks. The upper part of the panel isprovided with a lateral flange 22 which constitutes a convenientlyusable finger grip and is used in the manner shown in full and dottedlines in FIG. 2. The top wall is provided with a balanced permanentlybolted or equivalently attached handle or handgrip 24. The upperrearward portion of the top wall is provided with an opening or slot asat 26 in FIG. 4. This slot is of suitable length and parallel andproximal to the upper part of the rear wall 14. It provides for theinsertable and removable space heating means. To the ends desired thismeans or heat source may vary in construction and could if desiredinclude incandescent lamp bulbs (not shown). On the other hand, it ispreferred that the means employed had best take the form of a suitablyshaped electric heating element or unit such as at 28 (FIG. 2). Thisunit comprises what is referred to in the trade as a Calrod. The limbsof the rod unit are suitably electrically connected to an insulatedterminal block 30 which in turn is bolted or fastened as at 32 to a flatcentral or web portion 34. of an insertable and removable channel-shapedmember 36, also designated herein as a separator or divider. It shouldbe noted in FIG. 3 that the cross-sectional dimension of the channel isless than the cross-section of the area of the space in which thismember is mounted. Accordingly the side flanges 38 are spaced from theside walls 12. Then, too, there is a bottom wall or flange as at 40which as shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a screw-threaded stud 42extending through the bottom wall and held in place by a thumbnut 44.This arrangement provides a hold-down and anchor for the insertable andremovable channel-shaped divider 36. The upper end is such that it islined up with and insertable and removable by way of the aforementionedopening or slot as brought out in FIGS. 2 and 4. This supper end issuitably secured to coacting end portions of an adaptor or cover plate48 which in turn is fastened, as at 46, atop the top wall and in amanner to cover the slot or opening 26 (FIG. 4). Thus when the anchormeans 42 and 44 is disconnected the entire divider 36 can be lifted outthrough the slot 26. The cover plate is provided with a suitablyconstructed and mounted receptacle 50 having appropriate companion wires52 electrically connected at lower ends to the aforementioned terminalblock 30 (FIG. 2). Similar wires 54 are provided and are connected attheir lower ends to the terminal block and they extend up and areconnected to a fitting 56 which in turn is mounted on the plate 48 andwhich carries a current conducting cord 58 which terminates in a plug 60having prongs capable of use for example in the manner shown in FIG. 5.It can be added that the numeral 62 is a ground wire which functions inthe manner shown designates FIG. 4. The idea however is to provide areceptacle 50, to wire it to the block 30, to wire the block back to theconductor 58 and use the conductor in the manner shown at the right inFIG. 5. It is also within the purview of the invention to provideconductors 58 with prongs on both ends so that any number of theseheaters and carriers can be placed together and electrically connectedin series. On the other hand it will be evident that the essence of theinvention is primarily in the self-contained device itself, that is thecabinet-like container with the openable and closable door 20 andwherein the inner space is transformed into a main compartment A inwhich the china dishes B are stacked and an auxiliary compartment C atthe rear in which the heat source is confined and isolated. The heat isgenerated in this compartment or chamber and circulates around theflanges 38 into the main compartment. Also it will be noted that themain compartment when the door is opened can be loaded and the dishesstacked as suggested in phantom lines. When the dishes are properlystacked in position they bear against the web 34 of the channel-shapeddivider 36 whereby the divider becomes a limit stop. Then too the web 34constitutes a shield and prevents the edges of the dishes which contactthe same from being heated to an objectionable degree. This heat shieldis a feature incorporated to keep the plates from becoming to hot tohandle and without subiecting the fingers of the user to danger orinjury.

It will be noted that the electrical heating element or unit 28,terminal support block therefor and wires are arranged in the channel ofthe channel-shaped member 36 and that the open side of the channel isproximal to but faces the rear wall 14.

Many of the features and advantages of the over-all device have beenpointed out in the introductory portion of the specification and neednot be repeated here. Also, it is believed that by studying the views ofthe drawing, singly and collectively, and taking into account thedetails of the plate heater and carrier the features and advantagesthereof will be clear. Furthermore, the use of the devices in series orgroup relationship is believed to be evident in FIG. 5. Under thecircumstances a more extended description is believed to be unnecessary.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A portable dinner plate storing heater and carrier comprising avertically elongated self-standing cabinetlike enclosure constituting acontainer, said container providing a prescribed space within theconfines of which a plurality of dinner plates can be convenientlystacked, compactly stored and carried from place to place, saidcontainer having readily openable and closa-ble closure means designedand adapted to facilitate loading and unloading said space, heat sourceoperatively confined in said space, said heat source being protectivelyshielded, isolated and readily accessible, and insertable and removable,said heat source embodying an electrically insulated electric heatingelement, and accompanying receptacle for an electric plug, and acomplemental current conducting cord separate from the receptacle andelement and having a free end terminating in a prong-equipped plugcapable of being connected to a second receptacle provided on a secondplate heater and carrier such as can be stationed when in use adjacentthe aforementioned plate storing heater and carrier.

2. The plate heater and carrier defined in and according to claim 1, andwherein said enclosure embodies interconnected top and bottom walls,side walls, and front and back walls, said front wall having an entranceopening provided with marginal guide tracks, said closure meanscomprising a door-like panel and said panel spanning said entranceopening and being slidingly mounted in said guide tracks.

.3. A portable dinner plate storing heater and carrier comprising avertically elongated self-standing cabinet-like enclosure constituting acontainer, said container providing a prescribed space within theconfines of which a plurality of dinner plates can be convenientlystacked, compactly stored and carried from place to place, saidcontainer having readily openable and closable closure means designedand adapted to facilitate loading and unloading said space, meansnormally confined in the space of said container for positioning theplates and maintaining them in stacked but accessible relationship insaid space, said means comprising a partition located in and dividingsaid space into a main compartment for the plates I and a complementalauxiliary air heating compartment, said partition being operativelymounted in the container space at the dividing line between said mainand auxiliary compartments, the locale of said partition being such thatit constitutes a limit stop for the dinner plates in a manner that theycan be orderly stacked and systematically but accessibly maintained inthe stack within the confines of said main compartment, whereby tominimize displacement of the plates while being handled or carried, andheat generating and radiating means operatively mounted on and carriedby said partition, said means embodying an electrically insulatedelectric heating element and a current conducting cord having one endelectrically wired to said heating element and the other end accessibleand free and provided with a prong-equipped plug, said heating elementbeing confined and isolated in said auxiliary air heating compartmentand proximal to and shielded by and separated from the main compartmentby said partition.

4. A portable plate heater and carrier for a stack of heatedready-to-use dinner plates comprising a selfstanding verticallyelongated cabinet-type container embodying operatively united top andbottom walls, side walls, and front and back walls, said front wallembodying an entrance and exit opening to facilitate loading thecontainer space and subsequently removing the plates for use, the frontvertical edge portions of the side walls proximal to and bordering saidfront wall being provided with a pair of guide tracks, a panel spanningsaid entrance opening, said panel being slidingly keyed in the tracksand providing a door-type closure, a handgrip accessibly mounted atopsaid top wall, said top wall being provided adjacent said rear Wall witha slot affording access to the interior space of said container, avertically elongated partition located in said space between said topand bottom walls and occupying a position parallel to and spaced fromthe front and back walls, respectively, and transforming said space intoa forward main compartment and a rearward auxiliary compartment, saidmain compartment being of a size and shape to permit a stack of cleandinner plates to be inserted through said entrance opening and stacked,and stored and confined within the encompassing limits of said maincompartment, certain marginal edge portions of said plates being capableof abutting said partition and said partition serving as a limit stopfor said plates, and heat generating and radiating means operativelymounted on said partition, said means embodying an electric heatingelement which is electrically insulated from said partition and otheradjacent components thereof.

5. The plate heater and carrier defined in and according to claim 4, andwherein said partition is channelshaped in cross-section with the openside of the channel facing and spaced a nominal restricted distance fromsaid backwall and its web spaced a significantly relatively greaterdistance from the front wall, said partition having its lengthwise wallsspaced inwardly from the opposed side walls of said container andaifording limited communication between said main and auxiliarycompartments, said partition being of a cross-sectional dimension thatit can be inserted and withdrawn by way of said access slot, accessibleanchoring and fastening means separably uniting the lower end of saidpartition to said bottom wall, an adapter plate connected to an upperend of said partition and detachably fastened atop said top wall andclosing said slot, the upper end of said partition being operativelyconnected to said adapter plate, said electric heating elementcomprising an electrical rod-type heating unit, similar to a Calrodconfined in a lower portion of the channel and situated wholly thereinand Within the adjacent confines of the auxiliary compartment, said unitbeing carried by an insulated terminal block secured in said channel.

6. The plate heater and carrier defined in and according to claim 5, andwherein said adapter plate is provided with a receptacle electricallywired to said terminal block and is also provided with an attachedcurrent conducting cord also wired to said terminal block and having afree terminal end provided with an accessible prong-equipped plugcapable of use when it is desired to group a plurality ofcorrespondingly constructed plate heaters and carriers together for usein series with each other.

7. The plate heater and carrier defined in and according to claim 5, andwherein said adapter plate rests flatwise in a readily accessible localeatop said top Wall and spans and completely covers said slot and isequipped at one end with an optionally usable receptacle which iselectrically wired to said terminal block and is provided at an oppositeend with a current conducting cord which is likewise electrically wiredto said terminal block and has a freely accessible upper terminal endwhich is provided with a prong-equipped plug for such use as may bedesired.

'8. The plate heater and carrier defined in and according to claim 5,and wherein the accessible anchoring and fastening means comprises ascrewthreaded stud which is fixed to a flange provided at the bottom ofsaid partition, said stud extending downwardly through said bottom walland being provided with an accessible thumbnut clampingly cooperablewith an underneath surface of said bottom wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,710,905 6/1955 Schramm 219-5232,908,791 10/ 1959 Torino et a1 221- X 3,030,483 4/1962 Rudolph et al219214 3,351,741 11/1967 Shelley 219-385 3,454,318 7/1969 Kemp et al312-31 FOREIGN PATENTS 819,952 9/1959 Great Britain.

VOLODYMYR Y. MAYEWSKY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 219218, 214, 533;312-236

